Monday, October 12, 2009

Everyone has unique talents in this world. One of my self professed talents is making a good bowl of popcorn. Here's a photo of my most recent bowl of popcorn consumed by me this evening.

I start out with a cooking pot and cover. I add olive oil and heat the oil slightly then add the popcorn to the pot and cover. One of the secrets to making a good batch of popcorn is to listen to the popcorn as it starts to pop, shaking the pot occasionally, and keep the pot on the stove until you hear the "sounds of silence". Then the popcorn is ready to be put into a serving bowl. I have had many popcorn batch with not one unpoppedkernel using this technique.

To the popped popcorn I sprinkle some Parmesan cheese, melted butter, home made sea salt and then hot sauce. I first learned about popcorn with hot sauce while vacationing at IslaMujeres which is an island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. I was enjoying the white powder sand beach on IslaMujeres one day when I was approached by a local Mexican man who was going from person to person asking if anyone wanted to buy some popcorn. I thought it was funny to be selling popcorn on the beach but I do like popcorn and wanted to help this fellow out so I bought some popcorn. This man then asked if I wanted some hot sauce on the popcorn. I had never tried popcorn this way before but thought, "When in Mexico do as the Mexicans" and tried the hot sauce. Well, by golly I thought to myself, "This is a good batch of popcorn. BAM!, the hot sauce really kicks up the taste."

The late Paul Newman and I had a couple of things in common. We both liked popcorn and beer and we both used to live in Connecticut.

The frosty ice cold Coors light beer in a chilled mug to me is a perfect compliment to the hot and spicy popcorn. The cool Colorado water found in Coors light beer seems to provide a "taste that beats the others cold".

So, that's how I make my popcorn. How about you? What ingredients do you add to your popcorn? Have you ever tried eating popcorn and drinking beer together at the same time? If not, you should try this combination. And remember eating popcorn and drinking beer is "not just for breakfast anymore"; you can eat popcorn and drink beer in the evening while watching television or a movie or even a sporting event such as "Monday Night Football".